Vantiv acquires Worldpay , Volvo goes all-electric and other trading news

1) Financial Times: Worldpay agrees to be acquired by rival Vantiv in £9bn deal
Description: Worldpay Group, the UK’s leading payments processor, has disappointed investors by announcing that its board has agreed a £9.1bn deal to be acquired by US rival Vantiv, sending shares in the company down sharply. Worldpay fell 8.8 per cent to 372p on Wednesday, soon after unveiling Vantiv’s planned takeover of the business, which values its shares at 385p. Shares in Worldpay had climbed to as high as 435p in London morning trading amid expectations that a bidding war would ensue between Vantiv and JPMorgan Chase, both of whom were revealed to be competing to buy the company on Tuesday.

2) Financial Times: Asia energy stocks follow crude lower
Description: Asian equities drifted as energy stocks fell in reaction to an oil price slide, while the dollar made slight gains against a host of currencies. In Tokyo, the energy component of the Topix index was down 1.6 per cent, with petroleum companies JXTG and Inpex losing 2.7 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. In Sydney, the energy segment of the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.6 per cent, with WorleyParsons shedding 2.1 per cent. The broader index was down 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong’s energy sector was off 0.8 per cent, but state-owned oil companies Cnooc and PetroChina were both down 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively — among the worst performers from the Hang Seng benchmark index, which was off 0.3 per cent.

3) BBC News: Butter could cost more by Christmas, Arla boss warns
Description: The boss of dairy giant Arla has warned that there could be a butter and cream shortage in the UK this Christmas. Peder Tuborgh, chief executive of the farmer-owned firm, says that the shortage will bite across Europe. "We know that as an industry, I know that from our forecasting," Mr Tuborgh told the BBC's Today programme. "It is going to play out differently in different markets. The first sign we will see of it is that the price of butter rises very sharply." Mr Tuborgh said butter and cream shortages would occur because there was not enough milk available to make the products. There is a milk shortage because producers "put the brakes on" in 2016, in the wake of a previous over-production of milk. A spokesman for industry body Dairy UK said there had been "significant increases" in wholesale prices for butter and cream recently. It added: "To what degree price increases are transmitted to consumers is a matter for retailers."

4) BBC News: UK productivity falls to pre-crisis level
Dewcription: The productivity of UK workers has dropped back to pre-financial crisis levels, according to official figures. Hourly output fell 0.5% in the first three months of the year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. At the end of 2016, productivity returned to the level seen before the downturn, overturning years of decline which has weighed on wages. But it has now slipped back again and is 0.4% below the peak recorded at the end of 2007, according to the ONS. Economists have warned that the UK's productivity continues to lag behind its major trading partners such as the US, France and Germany. It said the global oversupply of milk less two years ago had resulted in a "difficult time for farmers".

5) BBC News: Schools issue Snapchat Map warning
Description: Schools are warning parents that a new location-sharing feature in Snapchat could put children at risk. Snap Map lets users share their exact location with people on their "friends" list in real time. In a letter seen by the BBC, one school said the map raised "serious safeguarding concerns" because children could be tracked on the map. But Snap, the company behind Snapchat, says the feature is opt-in and can be switched off at any time. Snap Map was launched on 21 June and lets people browse a map of photos and videos that have been shared publicly.

6) Telegraph: Volvo becomes the first major car manufacturer to go all electric
Description: Volvo will become the first major car manufacturer to go all electric, with the Swedish company saying that every new car in its range will have an electric power train available from 2019. The company said the announcement marks “the historic end” of cars solely powered by petrol or diesel and “places electrification at the core of its future business”. “This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs.” Premium car manufacturer Volvo - which is owned by China’s Geely - will launch five fully electric cars across its range between 2019 and 2021. Two of these new cars will be in the company’s Polestar high performance sub-brand, which is being revived.

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